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Delgo (PG, 2008)

common sense media says

Shoddily animated adventure is too violent for young kids.

parents & educators say
  • 67% say violence is an issue
  • 67% say there are positive role models
See all 7 reviews | Review it

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this adventure features some mature themes, including war, political corruption, armed occupation, race relations, and genocide -- not exactly what you expect from an animated fantasy film. While the language is mostly insults, and the sexuality is limited to flirting and one innocent kiss, the violence is rather prominent and frequent. The entire plot revolves around getting two races to declare war on each other, and some scenes portray atrocities that one army committed against innocent civilians. The protagonist creatures may be winged, but this is no fairy tale.

Positive messages: The two groups of creatures can't seem to get along and frequently make "racist" remarks about each other. A character is so blinded by power and ambition that she's willing to sacrifice her family to rule, and characters are easily corrupted. But there are two strong young characters who fall in love despite coming from different backgrounds.
Positive role models: Not applicable.
Violence & scariness: A few characters are killed -- one is poisoned, one is stabbed, others are slain off-screen -- but there's no blood. Brawls break out between the Lockni and the Nohrin that eventually escalate to war on two separate occasions. Sedessa leads a slaughter of the Lockni people. Characters are threatened, imprisoned, and kidnapped.
Sexy stuff: A couple shares one kiss; another couple flirts and hugs.
Language: Mostly disparaging remarks about the other race of creatures -- like "savages," "stupid," "inferior," "silly," "ignorant," etc.
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Not applicable.
Our ratings and reviews are informed by child development guidelines. Learn more.

More on Delgo

What to talk about

Talk to your kids

  • Families can talk about whether animated violence is more or less upsetting than real-life violence. Why?

  • Is this movie more violent than most animated films?
  • What is the impact of seeing violent behavior in the media?
  • Families can also discuss the movie's social and political themes.
  • What can we learn about the way the Nohrin and Lockni interacted? What are some ways they discriminated against each other? Kids: Could you understand what was going on, or was the story too complicated?

What's the story?

What's the story?
The winged Nohrin are a proud race of flying creatures. When their world becomes a wasteland, King Zahn (voiced by Louis Gossett Jr.) puts his sister Sedessa (the late Anne Bancroft, in her final screen performance) in charge of establishing a new home. The spiritual, terrestrial Lockni, who live in Jhamora, offer the Nohrin the skies above their homeland. But instead of making peace, Sedessa tries to wipe out the Lockni, so Zahn clips her wings and banishes her. Fifteen years later, Sedessa orchestrates a plot to kidnap the king's daughter Princess Kyla (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and blame it on the Lockni, so the king will be forced to declare war. Delgo (Freddie Prinze Jr.), a young Lockni adventurer who's smitten with Kyla, and his comic-relief sidekick Filo (Chris Kattan) team up with imprisoned Nohrin general Bogardus (Val Kilmer) to save the princess and stop the violence.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 

It's difficult to follow DELGO's convoluted plot. Between the political intrigue, General Bogardus' gambling addiction, Sedessa and Raius' evil plot, and the tension between the occupying Nohrin and the occupied Lockni, the story gets way too bogged down; this is an animated fantasy film, not four seasons of Battlestar Galactica crammed into an hour and a half.

Even kids and their parents who can keep up wtih all of the political machinations may have trouble looking past the creepy, reptilian-like creatures (who would have been better off imagined as human-looking aliens). And the animation, although computer animated, is more 1988 than 2008. The one redeeming thing about this film is that viewers get to hear Bancroft's commanding contralto voice one last time. It's just a shame the project isn't worthy of her (or most of the cast's) considerable talent.

Movie themes & details

Movie Details
Studio: Freestyle Releasing
Director: Jason Maurer, Marc F. Adler
Cast: Freddie Prinze Jr., Jennifer Love Hewitt, Val Kilmer
Genre: Family and Kids
Run time: 107 minutes
Theatrical release: December 12, 2008
DVD release: August 4, 2009
MPAA Rating: PG
MPAA explanation: sequences of fantasy action violence
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This review was written by Sandie Angulo Chen
 
 

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What parents & educators say

8
Based on 3 parent & educator reviews:
  • 67% say violence is an issue
  • 67% say there are positive role models
  • 67% say there are positive messages
Read the reviews

Most useful reviews by all members

Justy7
parent of 8 year old
8
 
For older than 7
My 8 year old and I liked it. It was a familiar theme but it would not be easy to predict all the events that happened in the story. I think that people can't review a movie without watching it first. I had never heard of this movie but will definitely tell all the parents I know to watch it.
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helped me decide (6) | had useful details (4) | read my mind (4)
tarnag
teen, 16 years old
17
 
i didnt watch this and i can tell how lame it was
okay delgo is the worst name for a movie ever.this is a waste of time to watch and makes me wanna type something so horrible it will make your computer crash.usually im against ranting but this is bad bad bad bad.this is fine if you wanna torture someone.its the new waterboarding!!!please think of the children before watching this it disgusts me,it makes me wanna vomit, i curse whoever made this movie and everyone that helped to hiccuping for the rest of their life!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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BlueJade
parent of 11 year old
8
 
Sci-fi fantasy that's fun rainy afternoon movie for 8-12s
If you like those Lego Bionicle movies or the Star Wars:Clone Wars tv show, you may like Delgo. It's not as bad as some people all over the web seem to say. Yes, it's very derivative of other films. But as a parent and child watching this film, we enjoyed noting how it was so similar to other stories: Star Wars, Snow White, Princess Bride, Eragon, etc. Making those connections is a great skill for kids in 4th - 7th grade, which is who will like this film. Understanding how stories derive from other stories is fun for kids, too; gives them a sense of power. Maybe the animation isn't that fantastic, but then this age audience loves the simplicity of Nickoldeon and Disney cartoons, which makes Delgo's animation look very rich. I thought some of the backgrounds were rather imaginative. There's violence and bad characters, but there's also a lot of rather innane humor, mostly voiced by Chris Kattaan. Kids may find it funny. The princess is very independent, thinks for herself, not very wimpy. I don't think she even wears a dress. This is a fantasy with a sci-fi twist. There are two groups of people who have to work together against the real bad guys, led by an evil woman. The flying animals, including whales, in the final battle scenes were cool to see, even if derivative. Little kids may find it scary, but the action-adventure set will think it's good.
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helped me decide (3) | had useful details (3) | read my mind (3)
NesterPester
teen, 18 years old
8
 
Terrible movie
Bloody awful film.
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helped me decide (2) | had useful details (2) | read my mind (3)
mattsdad
parent of 9 year old
8
 
Liked by this parent and his 7 year old
Aliances between enemies and betrayal of friends/family are all fairly portrayed. Good messages about tolerance and resolving differences. Interesting fantasy creatures and sufficient action.
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hmph11
kid, 13 years old
17
 
Noonononononon
THIS LOOKS LIKE A STUPID MOVIE!!! I WILL NEVER WATCH THIS IN MY LIFE!(only if they payed me 50bucks!!!
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ctfur
teen, 15 years old
7
 
watch wall-e,madagascar 2,boltor kung fu panda instead
here is how i would best discribe the film: a poorly animated,boring version of lord of the rings
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ON: Content is appropriate for kids this age.
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